Obama's Vice Presidential Selection Team

Sen. Barack Obama's Vice-Presidential selection team is now in place. It includes Former Deputy U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, Caroline Kennedy and "Democratic insider" Jim Johnson.

Obama said today he'd be speaking with Hillary over the next few weeks, but didn't mention whether the VP slot would be one of the topics.

CNN asks, can he afford not to offer her the position if she wants it? I don't know if she wants it or not. If she wants it, I'm all for her having it.

What happens if it's disclosed she wanted it and wasn't offered it? I imagine many of her 18 million supporters would be quite displeased.

Do her supporters have options other than sitting out the election or switching to Obama or McCain? [More...]

What happens if she suspends her campaign but doesn't concede? Do her pledged delegates stay pledged to her until the convention in Denver?

Could she continue to campaign around the country this summer urging people to vote for the eventual Democratic candidate, praising Obama but not referring to him as the nominee?

Does her promise to campaign for Obama if he's the nominee, begin now or in August when he officially becomes the nominee? Did she ever say?

Obama is the presumptive nominee but there's a lot of loose ends floating around. Every time I hear "he's won" I think, "slow down." He's won when she decides he has won. Until and unless that happens, he has to wait until votes are cast at the convention and he has the necessary majority then.

Hillary is listening to her supporters and I suspect no one will hurry her into making a decision on how to proceed. If she wants the VP slot, and he's not willing to talk to her for a couple of weeks, maybe that's how long she will take before she makes her decision.

Or maybe she will make two decisions. One this week announcing the suspension of her campaign and and another when she's good and ready releasing her pledged delegates. That could be any time up until the convention. Don't pledged delegates stay pledged through the first ballot at the convention?

Seems to me, if Barack Obama wants to cement the deal, he ought to be listening to Hillary now, not in a couple of weeks.

to see McKinney in a debate with Obama and McCain. Just for the pure entertainment value that would have. She is a bit(ok alot) off my beaten path and would never get my vote, but weeeee it would be fun.

on the war, and any number of other things. Another example of a smart woman (and AA) being thrown unde the bus by the party establisment. They seem to be bound and determined to purge all the "fighting Dems" - how sad, when we now need one so badly.

Stay in the senate, ready to become the Liberal Lioness of the Senate? Push for lib/prog legislation? Try to keep Obama from going too Repub Lite?

I don't see a cabinet seat as worth her giving up her senate seat, and I'm not sure about the Supreme Court. I'd sort of like to take the R's idea of finding very good, very liberal justices who are young enough to be around long after the president's term.

... between Obama's plan and Clinton's plan is miniscule. Obama's plan is more a step wise transition. The big change in healthcare is going to occur in the next administration.

The jump from Obama's plan to Clinton's plan (in the future), will be an incremental change -- not the revolutionary one upcoming.

I agree with Clinton's goal of a truly universal plan, but at the same time, I also see Obama's pragmatism. Lets get something done that will not cause the system to collapse or go under too much strain, and then be an impetus for a reversal a few years later.

you have to begin by asking for everything. You can compromise, but you can never get more than you originally asked for. I learned this from union negotiations. Ask for the moon-then compromise from there.

WITH a mandate and one without IS huge. as someone who previously worked in the health insurance field, I can categorically tell you that the coverage needs to be universal, and the insurance companies NOT allowed to decline anyone for coverage or impose pre-existing condition rules. Hillary knows these guys WELL, and after her last experience with them will be ready to play hardball. If not president, I'm inclined to think she'd actually wield more clout in Harry Reid's job. God knows he hasn't been using it!

But it isn't August yet - remember, Teddy himself took it to the convention with a VERY large delegate deficit - and he didn't wim the popular vote. I say let her take a vacation (not TOO long) and then she's rested and ready when the R slime machine gets to be too much for him. He's not really used to working this hard.

yesterday the Obama campaign put out rumors designed to damage Senator Clinton. This is more of the same. It's not enought for Obama to win they want to "kill" the Clintons. The crapfest at MSNBC opened claiming Clinton is DEMANDING the vp slot. More poop from the Obama campaign.

Obama has been without grace and without unity this entire campaign. She happens to lead in the popular vote, he is hanging by a thread as the presumptive nominee. If he screws up a lot could change fast.

of her no decision. His speech had been handed out before hand. His speech was on the teleprompter because he has not made good win speeches before. His speech was written on the erroneous news that she would concede. Hers was written on some notes that she glanced at occasionally. I clapped when she said no decision. She has the most votes every cast during a primary. Why should she concede and according to the Obama script. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Donna and Roland and other Obama news people exploding. I was thrilled to see all the prominent AA supporters she had on stage with her. What a fine contingent of supporters.I hope she just suspends and continues on. If it is a floor fight, then it is a fight. A lot can happen in 2 months time. Look at all that came out about Obama since February. Who knew?

What would happen to Obama if Hillary Clinton ran as an independent? What does she have to lose at this point? She and the 18M people who voted for her have been disrespected and dismissed by the Democratic establishment. It's clear they will try to destroy her anyway. I think she should consider it.

Think about it. Maybe it might be wise for Obama to be a little less rude and graceless toward her?

I want to start tonight by congratulating Senator Obama and his supporters on the extraordinary race that they have run. Senator Obama has inspired so many Americans to care about politics and empowered so many more to get involved, and our party and our democracy is stronger and more vibrant as a result. So, we are grateful, and it has been an honor to contest these primaries with him, just as it is an honor to call him my friend. And tonight, I would like all of us to take a moment to recognize him and his supporters for all they have accomplished.

Obama:

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We've certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who's shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning - even in the face of tough odds - is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children's Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency - an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Now, there really isn't that much difference. Both congratulated and said a few nice things about the other one.

it now, another site to join with all those others out there now. And I'm signing up for them all, signing all the petitions, sending the message to stay in, Hillary! -- as it's the only way to (a) still win, as the Obama bus continues to decline with all those bodies under the bus dragging it down, or (b) at least leverage for her/our issues.

And let those issues include, please, a serious overhaul of the FCC to fight abuse of the First Amendment by media doing gender-bashing, a serious revival of the ERA bill in Congress (or let's just get Mr. Constitutional Law "Prof" to work on the issue of whether it just needs three more states' ratifications), a revived battle to restore the Equal Pay Act, and a new rendition of the body that brought us that law in 1963 under JFK, if whomever is the Dem nominee wants to get with our issues: A new Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, nationally and in the states.

And that's just the start of my list for the new website, HillaryIsLikeableEnough.com, with links like WeAreLikeableEnoughToo.com. :-)

Hillary would have actually FOUGHT for those issues. I don't trust The Precious to actually fight for any of them. He doesn't have her backbone or her will to get things done.

Gawd! I still have some hope that Hillary will find a way to claim the nomination in August! I hope she just suspends her campaign for some silly reason and lets Obama implode in the next few months. I'm certain Reverend Wright isn't going to be the end of his "vetting process."

she will be "obedient," according to Chris Matthews. I heard a Democratic "analyst" on TV today say that Hillary is being "defiant." They are treating her like a child. It's insulting and offensive, and she shouldn't have to take it anymore. I'm fed up with it.

For example - Bob Barr. Isn't he actually the first AA nominee for president, rather than Obama?

Or how about the other party candidates - Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, and Chuck Baldwin?

What about write-ins?

I'm pretty sure I'll vote Dem down-ticket, although I do intend to change my affiliation in August should Hillary not be on the Dem ticket. I'd rather not leave the space blank and I'm not sure about how Colorado handles write-ins.

SEVERSON: Bob Barr says the rigid laws are necessary, first as a deterrent, and also to prevent judges from handing down sentences that he says are too often too lenient.

Mr. BARR: It does push a great deal more power in the hands of the prosecutor.

SEVERSON: Is that the way it was intended to be?

Mr. BARR: Yes, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. I mean, there's nothing in our system of jurisprudence or in the Constitution that says that the ultimate source of power in these things has to be the judge.

Guess I'll just have to write a separate post on this. Let's get back to Obama and Hillary.

Pledged delegates stay pledged through the first ballot at the convention.

But the Clinton campaign has argued that pledged delegates can use their own discretion. This prompted outraged howls from Obama-supporters. Of course, two pledged delegates HAVE switched, from Clinton to Obama, and nary a peep was uttered by Obama-supporters.

So I don't think Hillary is going to be able to hold all of her pledged delegates, not when her party is essentially urging everyone to back Obama. She has almost no party support. It's amazing that she was able to finish out the primaries considering how much the deck has been stacked against her.

I think she'll have to suspend her campaign in the next few days and cheerlead for Obama. (Yeah, I know.) If Obama implodes, she can always step in up through the convention, can't she?

seem to have much room in the way of compromise. He hasn't been able to pivot on any issue successfully, and I can't see him suddenly saying " Clinton is good enough". Plus half (or more) of his supporters are more Clinton Haters than Obama supporters and they would revolt. It is a losing situation either way he goes.

that she has to hang on to her pledged delegates. It's her leverage with the super-delegates if the Obama campaign implodes, it's her leverage for VP if she wants it, and/or it's her leverage with Obama for a long list of issues like health care . . . and see others at my previous comment upthread. And then it's her leverage if she wants to lead on those issues in the Senate and add even more luster to her remarkable career (for 2012, 2016, or just to get re-elected to the Senate again and again, where we are losing our warriors).

After all, Edwards suspended, and he waited many, many months to release his delegates to Obama only weeks ago. How soon the media so conveniently forget even the immediate past, much less history.

This is how politics, she is done. Power -- use it, don't lose it, and definitely don't concede it. No one knows this better than a Rodham Clinton.

...appointee who jumped on the Obama bandwagon early in the game? I think Hillary should suspend her campaign and take a long, long vacation. She can campaign for the nominee after the convention. Let him have his moment in the spotlight. Isn't that what people wanted all along. If the media doesn't want to focus on her, nobody's making them.

and has written/edited three books on the Constitution. One's a pocket guide but the others she co-authored, In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights In Action (1990) and
The Right to Privacy (1995).

She is a director of both the Commission on Presidential Debates and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She's also an adviser to the Harvard Institute of Politics, a living memorial to her father.

She's more than qualified to serve on his selection committee and in my opinion, far preferable a former proseuctor like Holder.

for refreshing our memories on that. I don't like her choice of candidates, but I applaud her example in many other ways -- I knew I did but didn't have your memory bank. And much as I don't like her uncle's choice of candidates, either, I've got to think that these are hard days for him and other Kennedys. If only they would listen more to other people's children outside the clan -- like Chelsea.:-)

Jeralyn. Thank you. It is so much thoughtful than anything I read or heard this morning... Examples:

(1) that Dean, Pelosi and Reid were going to "sternly demand" all SD to come on board
and do...(whatever) but sounded like pressing HRC.
(2) that Obama seems not be interested in HC supporters
(3) Whoopi Goldberg was so so so out of bounds accusing HRC of not having "the country" and the "Party" interests first in her speech. She said she was "so pissed off" with her speech. It was horrible...And I though she supported HRC...

No respect... no respect at all neither for HRC nor for her 18 million supporters...

And this idea that Obama could say or do ANYTHING and have the millions of women, and men who support them, completely forgive/forget how sexist he (and the DNC) have been is riduculous. Not to mention INSULTING. Whether he offers Clinton the VP slot or not does not hide the way he is treating her NOW, and how he HAS been treating her (as well as her 18 mil supporters). This is just more of the same from him. Personally, I do NOT want her as HIS VP - she deserves much, much better than that - to be his HANDMAIDEN to "obey" him, as Matthews saif last night.

Frankly, I have worked too hard for too long helping women learn they do not have to: 1. take abuse; and 2. forgive the abuser when s/he comes back saying,"Ah, gee, SWEETIE, I'm sorry! YOU just let it go, I promise I won't be a sexist pig anymore, and everything will be okay!"

No. No way. Obama is not even the official WINNER yet and people are already wondering when the Womenfolk are gonna come around and stop being mad at being treated like pure-t you-know-what for the past 16 months? By the self-proclaimed (along with the MSM) kind of the world, and by the PARTY?? Why should we just swallow of us this abuse for "the sake of the Party" when the Party has FORSAKEN US???

her to be VP at all: she should be second to no-one. Besides, the
sheer image of a woman of her caliber and qualifications subordinating to such an unqualified man after all the misogyny
in this campaign is frankly horrible and disgusting.

I am no-one to tell her anything and she should do what she wants but I surely pray she rejects being VP.

this morning I heard an interview with my State Rep. (who is the speaker of the MN house and a Clinton supporter) who talked about meeting with Obama last night. She wasn't willing to say she was on-board with Obama, but she did have good things to say about the gesture.

So, Obama is doing the right thing here, what about the endless attacks by the OFB?

or he suffers big time. Funny thing is though, maybe she'll say yes, maybe she'll say no. And she could keep him guessing for some time. That's what she earned, leverage. Whether the Obama supporters like it or not. Personally, I think she should stay as far away as possible from him. She can run again in 2012 if that's what she wants.

But whatever the decision, it is hers to make and I support her one hundred percent.

to prevent the Obama nomination. With all the BS last night, everyone wanted to overlook the fact Obama was supposed to win SD by 15, that Hillary has the popular vote & has won the swing states and they are mad as h3ll that Hillary reminded them of those facts. Despite the party by the msm & Obama, he actually isn't the nominee yet, so I'm going to continue to wait for the other shoe to drop & for the SDs to wake up and start putting this country first not their own self-interests.
BTW -- my 10 year old nephew asked me last night -- "How can the person with the most votes not win? I don't understand how these elections work." You and me both, buddy.

Obama supports are telling her to interview for the job than get down on her knees and beg for it. She could do a lot more good in the Senate being the voice of her 18 million supporters, instead of "obeying" Obama.

imho - the Establishment doesn't want her on the ticket, and neither does Obama because it would conflict with his "new politics" of spending the past year trashing the Clinton administration.
The Clintons are Eeeeevil and Hillary was supposed to bow out before 18M voters had their say.
Funny how Obamabots thought they were voting against the Establishment's candidate. Oops! bamboozled again.

a very bad committee imo... Former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson doesn't inspire me any confidence whatsoever.. BTW he also did the search for Kerry 2004 and Mondale 1984 ...
He was asked by Obama on May 22 to start the search.

I know some people still think the Kennedy are the "royal" family in the United States, but I don't see what Caroline can bring except to appease some of the white women who feel put off by Hillary's treatment during this primary season.

I know the Kennedys still want to be relevant, but honestly, are they? In the big scheme of the world?

They have done a lot of good for this country and provide the perfect counterpoint to clans like the Bushs.

Yeah, the Kennedeys are rich and privileged. But for generations they have held fast to the ethic that the privileged have a responsibility to use their power for the benefit of everyone... especially the less fortunate.

Otherwise, please don't trash Caroline Kennedy just because she supported Obama. She has stayed mostly out of politics, but she has operated on the fringes and been active in a lot of worthy causes. She's no fool.

overreaction. I posed a valid question. In fact, your response corroborated my point, why would you hire someone on the fringe of politics, as you put it, to make an important political decision? That is a valid question to put to Obama.

If you were planning to do open hear surgery would you consult the daughter of a surgeon who had excelled at something completely different? I wouldn't if I wanted the patient (in this case Dems in the WH) to survive.

They created a spin that the media loved and went with it. I never did hear if they actually won the two state primaries that ran yesterday? It was probably reported here, but I was busy reading about Obama's victory speech and Clinton's non-concession. The media, of course, happily went along for the ride, talking about Obama's "historic" and "epic" win and Clinton's prospects for VP - or lack thereof.

I would give him credit for a campaign well run, except for a few small details. 1) he didn't do very well in the states we need to win most in the fall, and even sabotaged a few along the way 2) his campaign was the dirtiest, most divisive Democratic primary campaign in recent history. He has done to the Democratic Party what Karl Rove did to America.

I don't think he has a chance to win without Clinton. I'm not even sure of his winning if she runs with him, but he at least will have a shot. For one thing, she will continue to be a target, distracting the media from the inevitable attacks the right will make. They are already rumormongering, saying things that probably have no substance but are being widely believed nontheless. It will only get worse.

He had a plan to steal delegates through caucuses. It worked. But, that plan doesn't include winning in November. Now, his delegates are worthless and his caucus thugs won't be as effective in a real election either.

If not, I have no idea why she would be on someone's VP selection team. Is she "the woman's" point of view?

Maybe someone else can shed some light on that one for me.

As for what Hillary should or should not do, I think the best thing she could do, and the best way to gauge whether Obama will sink or swim, is to step back and allow him to be out there without her taking all the media heat. In some respects, he has been sheltered from the full force of the political winds, and I think it would be helpful to see how he handles himself.

I think that in order for the media to allow her to get out of the glare she will have to suspend; I know that sounds dire, and the media will spin it as concession even if that isn't what it is - but, the advantage is that she has the breathing room she needs.

Forcing Obama to stand on his own may be the best and most enlightening thing she could do right now.

So people can get a good look at Obama on his own. I want to see how much of his admiration is fueled by Hillary-hate.

My theory: he is not the strongest politician, and she's pretty darn radiant and strong, and that upsets people but they don't know why. So they say she's upstaging him, hogging the spotlight, etc. Just ask them to stand side-by-side and say nothing. People would have the same reaction.

Hillary may have "won" the VP if she wanted it? I don't think anybody wins the VP slot. In any case, I don't support her as VP. Hillary is destined for great things, and one of them is being the leader of Democrats who have been forgotten by both parties. I think she won't do it now, but she will start a new political party, and she'll be successful. This 2008 campaign opened my eyes to her greatness. I'm almost sorry I was an Edwards supporter before.

yeah that is interesting. I think some see the Kennedys as being symbolic of politicians who came into the public eye under the banner of change, so maybe that is why he picked her? I don't know...it seems really weird.

Is he the one up to his neck in the Fannie Mae scandal a few years ago? With the Mortgage industry problems today it is surprising that Obama is letting them hand-pick his VP. Not much hope for mortgage industry reform, huh? Hillary's call for a rate freeze didn't do her much good there.

I was wondering what the vote total for the Go to Denver is. My neighbor, who is a Republican and wants Hillary, and who went down with her husband to officially change to a Democrat here in PA to vote for her, asked me today "Where do we have to go and vote for her not to quit?" She has said she will not vote for Obama. She wants only Hillary. And were the Go to Denver comments from here sent on?

actions. He was gracious in his remarks, however his decision to decide to orchestrate the endorsements of Superdelegates so he could declare victory last night in spite of not actually winning enough plegded delegates in the two primaries was a power play designed to make him look good in spite of the fact that he had just lost a contest that only a little while ago he was heavily favored to win. If Hillary had run such a great campaign worthy of praise, she should have at least be entitled to end the primary season on a high note before the floodgate of supers decided to end the race. That also gave the impression that the superdelegates had decided long ago it was to be Obama and that allowing the race to play out was just a farce and that they were not truly being reflective about who would be the better choice. The media had crowned Obama the victor months ago before over half the people in this country got a chance to be heard, and rather than taking time to thoughtfully consider the entirety of the race and come to a decision. Obama wanted to rush Hillary out so he would not be viewed as being as weak as he is, and when she refused to allow that to happen she was villified in the press. We know the 18 millions people who voted for Obama in the primary are going to vote for him in November, what we don't know is if the 18 million who voted for Hillary are going to. So rather than be concerned about whether the Obama are getting to enjoy their celebration enough, we might try concering ourselves with making sure the Clinton supporters feel she and they are being treated fairly.

If Obama had been out over the top by the election results of yesterday that would have been one thing. He clinched the nomination yesterday because he decided he wanted to yesterday and not a day later. That was his choice, it was ungracious and petty and was an attempt to assert his power over the party in spite of the fact that half of it doesn't support him and that the only reason he has the nomination is because he has used his leverage to force the party to give it to him. After his disgraceful behavior in regard to Michigan any Democrat who is more worried about whether he gets time to celebrate when he wants, then whether the Democratic Party is more than just a bunch of petty hacks has another thing coming. Obama gave a good speech last night, but like so many times before he got everything else dead wrong. He needs to change his ways and get the attitudes of his followers in the press and elsewhere adjusted as soon as possible if he wants to earn our votes. Anyone who is still hacking for the Democratic Party is simply guilty of fearmongering and trying to vilify their poilitical opponents. We should be better than that.

and what's good for the Party seem to be at odds this year. I've been skeptical about BTD's arguments for the Unity Ticket, but if I'm honest with myself it's because I think Hillary's talents would be wasted as a Vice President -- it's abundantly clear that Obama is not likely to have the sort of relationship with her that Carter had with Mondale or Clinton with Gore (and even that went sour, and not just because of the honey trap scandal).

Cheney has proven beyond peradventure that the whole concept of the Vice Presidency is completely misbegotten, because it has no accountability whatsoever. No other major democracy has such an office, and goodness knows if the office were vacant the country would survive through the Presidential Succession Act.

While BTD's arguments are very difficult to refute, I suspect the only reason Hillary would accept the offer is because she's importuned to do it for the good of the Party (and the nation). The best solution here would be for Obama to publicly and magnaminously offer the Vice Presidential nomination to her and for Hillary to gracefully decline, citing the importance of her remaining in the Senate in view of the legislative work that will have to be done in the next four years to repair the damage of eight years of Republican misrule. If that could be done relatively quickly, it would partially deflate the Media bloviators and cut down on the ruinous sniping that the Obama camp has indulged in from the tall grass.

should take a few days off, get back to work in the Senate and let things play out for the rest of the summer. Do not suspend or concede.

As McCain engages BHO and if any other "scandal" or hiccup occurs, HRC can step in and lead the convention.

This is probably more wishful thinking than anything else but my gut instinct tells me 'something' is going to go down regarding Obama (scandal/gaffe) that will be his undoing. I dunno. Since the Clintons had the deck incredibly stacked against them, maybe they have an ace up their sleeve. (?)

Millions of women refuse to vote for Obama. They will sit it out, write-in Hillary, or vote for McCain.

But, McCain has been lavishing praise on Hillary while the DNC/Obama gang has insulted her in every way you could think of - stealing her delegates, allowing Obama to steal caucuses, telling her to get out when she won the people's vote, etc.

McCain will have Carly Fiorina, the HP CEO, as his VP. He wins CA and he wins the women's vote.

Obama cannot find a woman on this earth to replace Hillary. And, if he tries he will insult the millions of women voters EVEN MORE.

So, McCain wins by a landslide. Undecided women will defininately vote for McCain now. It may not be Hillary, but McCain has restored dignity back to the women who were so insulted, dishonored, and degraded by Obama, his followers, and the DNC.

And, of course, there's the American war hero against a two-faced, lying, corrupt, Chicago punk.

... she should keep her mouth shut in public. She shouldn't be playing hardball and trying to use "leverage". She would be an extremely qualified VP candidate -- although I'm not sure she would help the ticket in Novemeber -- she is now going to actively hurt it by making Obama looking weak, by being strong-armed by her.

Why would someone want to be strong-armed in to choosing them as a VP? Hillary was already more than qualified, and if she kept her mouth shut, it was already obvious the party was split 50/50. Her lack of grace is HURTING her chances.

I here assorted different women's name brought up as alternative to Hillary. I find this offensive. Today someone actually said it wouldn't really make much difference if it was a different woman. Listed Sebelius as a good alternative. I don't know about anyone else but choosing a different woman that Hillary offends me more that some man for the position.

She's a smart governor, and one of the most popular in the country. She's also had a good record with the economy. Maybe I'm missing something, but is Hillary the only qualified woman in the entire country to be Vice-President, or President for that matter? I don't think Obama should picka woman just to put a woman on the ticket, but there's some great women out there that aren't Clinton... I just don't understand the complete dismissal of other strong Democratic women

...It is offensive to suggest her just because she is a woman. I think there are far better candidates for VP than her. Hillary is the best woman. But I can think of about 5 men that I feel would be better than Sibelius.

as graceful as she has been, and as much as I admire her, she said when she endorsed Sen. Obama that it was her children who wanted her to. That puts her square in the same situation as Claire McCaskill (her children said they wouldn't speak to her anymore if she didn't)etal who endorsed that way. Not exactly a ringing endorsement!!Teddy endorsement, so he told colleagues because he didn't like what Bill Clinton said, not because he thought Obama was the next JFK.

the folks who want Hillary to surrender need to quit howling for her head. If it's not already apparent, that sort of thing doesn't achieve the desired result.

A colleague walked in my office earlier. "What has you more upset," he asked, "the fact that Hillary isn't going to be the nominee, or the fact that she's being such a b*tch about it?" Charming. I'm surprised MSNBC hasn't hired him already.

If these sorts of intra-party negotiations are all it takes to make him look weak then we are in trouble.

Honestly, all people are doing is kicking the can down the road when they insist that Obama be siloed here. This primary was as close as they come. Deal with it. And dealing with it means finding ways to find common cause between the two groups. That isn't "weak" that is democracy.

Her conduct last night and today with Wolfson and some irredentist posters here and there precludes her place on the ticket, because it advertises that she will seek to use the position for her own purposes, not the purposes of the President or the Party. It advertises she seeks to trade on rather than heal the division in the party. It guarantees four years of internal war, against delivery of a really small percentage of the 17 million who will follow her rather than the election results. And it breaks the hearts of supporters who thought her better than that. And you can't go to her website and tell her what you think - I went and the only option there is to approve of her unqualifiedly and then comment. (sigh)

BTW, the newscasts today say she in fact did not win the popular vote.

And before that she had ruled herself out because of the RFK comment. And before that she had ruled herself out with the Commander-in-Chief comment. And before that, and before that, and before that...

I just love all the people who have appointed themselves to Obama's VP selection committee. In reality, if you could watch Clinton's speech last night and conclude that it proves she seeks to become VP for her own purposes rather than the purposes of the President or the Democratic Party, then you were already way, way gone.

It advertises no such thing. Jesus, you hillary haters are always looking for the most nefarious explanation possible. She's a bigger democrat than obama has demonstrated himself to be. He has ripped the party in half... don't talk to me about internal war. That's been his game from the start. what a sham. There's no 'there' there with this guy. You have NO idea why she's doing what she's doing so stop with the garbage. Man, your guy just inspires infinite hatred from his supporters. You want to kick us in the face and tell us to get in line. NO.
-- member of the racist "dry p*ssy demographic"

I am amazed that Clinton's site didn't allow you to go in and bash her. Absolutely stunned I tell you. Myself, I am proud of her and the campaign she has run and respect her right to handle the end of the primary process in any way she chooses. Go figure.

To continue promising to support "the nominee" but not Barack Obama? Or to hold out, trying to force herself onto the ticket? Don't you think that would look awful petty and detached from reality?

If someone finds themselves unable to vote for Barack Obama after supporting Hillary, I would hope they would consider a vote for Bob Barr. He is the first half eloquent spokesperson the Libertarians have had, and it would be great to see them increase their numbers in the general election. The faster we add a third party to the debates, the ballots, and the federal funds on a regular basis, the better, and Barr is more sane than Nader, imo. Plus, the Libertarian platform is generally respectable, and not really built on a single issue, like greenness.

Not to be rude, but there are not that many disaffected Clinton supporters to go along with the true Libertarians. Voting for Barr would simply help to elevate the Libertarian Party, thus forcing the Dems--who have shown their arrogance here, no?--and the Repubs--who are always arrogant--to actually compete for power.

... not in a clearly Blue state -- a vote for a 3rd party is a vote for John McCain. We all saw how this played out in 2000 with Nader. It's amazing people want a repeat. No matter how disgusted you are with this primary season -- 8 MORE years of Bush/McCain is not worth it.

That said, I feel no compunction to vote Obama. From where I am sitting I on't owe the Deocrats anything. If McCain wins you can put it squarely in the camp of Obama though, not me. It isn't my fault if HE has offensive supporters and failed to make his case.

this year. Whomever I decide to vote for in November, the person wil have had to EARN my vote by positions taken on real issues. Integrity as perceived by ME will also count. It's my vote, and I don't OWE it to anyone!

Excuse me, I thought we had an election, and by the rules (the one with the most delegates) Obama won. Hillary is not some sort of anointed queen, she is a politician just like Obama. She is a politician that lost, and her followers would be wise to accept that fact and move on. There is no shame in losing only in losing poorly.

as you have been here enough. So stop trying to maintain those untruths.

The nomination is not won by a majority of delegates. It is won by reaching a specific number. And Obama has not and cannot win that number based on pledged delegates, so he coronated himself based on the hope that his super-delegates who can switch will not do so.

It's up to him to hang onto them now. No more pastor disasters. No more Michelle Obama mistakes. And he really needs supporters who are less ignorant or less willing to disrupt blogs. Buh-bye.

VOTES unless someone concedes. No voting by delegates has occurred. Technically, we're in presumed nominee limboland. You can lecture all you want but I don't think it will make her concede any faster or the voting convention meet any sooner. And it just sound mean-spirited.

She is a public servant, and she is a Democrat, when you don't have the numbers and everyone realizes (even your supported) that there is no chance to win then there is no place for anything but getting in line behind the candidate. By holding out she is showing that she is a self servant before being a Democrat or public servant. In her speech last night she effectively put 18M people up as hostages of hers, bargaining chips. For what end? Paying off debt? Securing a position on the ticket?

Can someone give me one reason why she shouldn't have conceded last night? I mean what a better way to get on the ticket than showing Obama that you believe in him? What a better way to bring a party together than to show your supports how triumphant last night was for the democratic party.

To me it seems the way of the Clintons, trust nobody, the only method to move your position forward is leverage and you have never lost until you decided to end the fight.

As for Hillary, perhaps she can get out and stump for Congresspeople and those Senators up for re-election.

It's not only one way of keeping herself in the Public Eye and PUBLICLY working to support the Party -- something she's promised repeatedly to do -- and hold or expand their leads in the House and Senate, but it's also a way of tacitly reminding people of her strength.

While Obama's being whittled down and blown away by the inevitable media attack, she'll be earning the respect and gratitude of all those House Members and Senators who supported Barack, but now find themselves fighting for their Seats on their own without Obama's help (he's infamous for taking what he needs and then moving on).

life doing the institution-building, good-government, foundation and charity circuit of work. It's actually politics in the most elemental sense - getting people together to work together toward particular goals. Need someone capable, high-profile and respected for the Board - she's a good choice.

In doing that over the last 30 years, she's gotten to know everyone who's anyone, and probably knows more about everyone than anyone else. She's deeply respected. It's sort of like she's Jackie O., but without the hubbub that surrounded Jackie.

VPs often aren't picked until the convention. Let the media move on to some other topic. They will get used to saying presumptive nominee for Obama, like they do for McCain. Obama and McCain can spar over the summer. The best choice for Obama will become clearer as a result, to him and to the public. If he is lagging in the polls, she can step in to save his behind. If he is doing well, then good for him. It will be healthier for him, and the party future, for him to consolidate his power base on his own.

I'm currently operating on the assumption that Hillary Clinton does not want to be VP. (sorry BTD!) If she wanted to be VP, she would have given a very different speech last night. Her speech was brilliant, mind you, and I have no complaints, but it was not the speech of someone shooting for the number 2 slot. In fact, it pretty much closed that door completely; Obama can't offer it to her now without appearing weak, and weak is the one thing he can't afford to be. Clinton, whose political instincts are second to none, knows this. She has another goal in mind.

There is absolutely no chance that she spends the summer 'campaigning for the nominee' without specifying who that is, or anything like that. She may or may not release her delegates, and she'll certainly hang around in case Obama implodes over the summer, but she's not about to start tilting at windmills. There's too much real work to be done.

"John McCain on Wednesday proposed a series of debates and town hall forums with Barack Obama. These events would be in addition to the three presidential debates sanctioned by the Presidential Debate Commission.

Speaking at a town-hall meeting in Baton Rouge, La., McCain said the two major party presidential candidates should appear together so that Americans can get a good look at the differences in their policies.

McCain later told reporters that he thinks Americans want "a new kind of discussion."

"I think they want a real chance to express their hopes and dreams and aspirations for the future and I think they'd like to hear directly from the candidates," he said.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe responded that he finds the idea of joint town halls "appealing and one that would allow a great conversation to take place about the need to change the direction of this country."

However, Plouffe said the Obama camp would "recommend a format that is less structured and lengthier than the McCain campaign suggests, one that more closely resembles the historic debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.""